Prompt #10: Recognizing Truth

One of the most well-known television shows that takes place in a business setting is The Office. This TV show documents the everyday lives of employees working at a paper supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Many of the characters do experience many issues that would take place in a business setting in the real world. For example, Dwight must choose a healthcare plan in the first season, the employees must attend sensitivity-training sessions, and employees must attend human resource consultations. In addition, the business underwent changes that real-world businesses would experience. For example, the Scranton branch was merged with another branch, the company nearly went under, and they even had to deal with competitors like when Michael Scott started a rival paper company. Although The Office does portray some aspects of the business field accurately, many aspects of the business field are misrepresented throughout the series.

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One of the most obvious ways in which The Office misrepresents the business field is simply in how it portrays the work ethic of the employees. Throughout the show, it seems as if the employees rarely do work related to their business. Many of the employees spend their time planning and organizing office events, pranking each other, or simply socializing. For example, according to We Got This Covered, Jim Halpert plays several pranks on his desk mate, Dwight Schrute, to relieve boredom. In addition, it often seems like the employees of Dunder-Mifflin are too busy holding paper-airplane contests, Office Olympics, and other events like these instead of doing the work that will keep the business running. These types of off tasks activities would never be as common in a real-world business.

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Another way in which The Office misrepresents the business field comes with how the employees treat each other. Within the business, like mentioned above, some of the characters often prank each other. In addition, romantic relationships form between employees which is often times not allowed in real world businesses. For example, Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly form a romantic relationship that is followed throughout the series. In addition, the relationship between the boss, Michael Scott, and his employees is very unprofessional. Throughout most of the episodes, Michael Scott makes comments toward employees that would never be acceptable in a business setting. For example, Michael Scott makes many racist remarks toward Kelly Kapoor because she is Indian, and fat jokes toward Phyllis Vance according to TV Guide. These types of behavior would not be acceptable in real-world businesses.

-Brianna

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